Drive gear for tabulating machine attachments



Feb. 22, r1944. J. E. Eu'rH DRIVE GEAR FOR TABUL'ATING MACHINE ATTAGHMENTS Filed March 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb; 22, 1,944;

J. E. E'UTH DRIVE GEAR FOR TABULATING MACHINEv ATTACHMENTS Filed Mamh 24, v1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb. 22, 1944 DRIVE GEAR FOR TABULATING MACHINE ATTACHMENTS John E. Enth, chicago, nl., assigner te United Autographic Register Co., a corporation of Illinois Application ltlarch 24, 1941, Serial No. 334,993

4 Claims.

This invention relates to tabulating machines, and more particularly to mechanism for driving paper feeding attachment from a platen roll in which the platen roll is both rotatable and oscillatable.

In some kinds of tabulating machines, for example, a machine known as Powers Model No. 3 Tabulating Machine, the platen roll of the machine is mounted to oscillate forwardly towards the type during each operation of the typing mechanism, and of course the roll is also mounted to rotate to feed the stationery.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a driving gear whereby a continuousform feeding attachment similar to that shown in Jensen Patent No. 2,130,015, issued September 13, 1938, may be mounted on the machine and driven by the gear on the platen roll shaft.

Obviously, a driving gear may be provided which will keep the platen roll and the feeding device in timed relation, but the diiculty with an ordinary transmission is in that when the platen roll is oscillated forwardly, it will cause a slight rotation or feeding movement of the feeding device. One of the objects of the present invention is to avoid that feeding action by permitting the gears to separate slightly but not suiiiciently to have the gears get out of mesh and thereby permit the timing to be changed.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a broken front elevational View of an attachment connected to a platen roll by a transmission embodying the invention; Figure 2, a fragmentary side elevational view of the same; and Figure 3, a fragmentary side elevational View, partly in section, showing the transmission device when the platen is oscillated to its forward position.

In the embodiment illustrated, a stationery feeding attachment, similar to that shown in Jensen Patent No. 2,130,015 is rigidly secured to the frame of a machine (not shown) by means of a bracket 4. The feeding mechanism includes a plurality of conveyer members 5 which are mounted on cross bars 6 and have endless belts 'l carrying feeding pins 8 to engage perforations 9 in continuous-form stationery I0 fed around the platen of the machine. The lower ends of the conveyer members are impaled by a driving shaft Il which is equipped at its left end, as viewed in Figure 1, with a driven gear I2,

The tabulating machine is provided with a (Cl. IS7-133) platen roll i3 which is rotatable to feed the stationery and is also mounted on a carriage which oscillates forwardly and rearwardly, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, to meet the type bars M. The platen roll has a shaft I5 which is power driven by suitable means (not shown) and is provided with a drive gear lt to drive the gear l2 on the shaft Il.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a link member in the form of a plate Il is pivotally mounted on a Xed pivot I8 which is eccentrically located with respect to the center of the gear I2. The lower end of the plate Il is journalled on the platen roll shaft l5. A pin i9 on the bracket impales a slot 20 in the plate Il so that a lost motion connection is provided and the link Il may oscillate a limited distance with respect to the bracket 4.

An idler gear 2i is journalled on the link-plate l'l, as indicated at 22, so that the distance between the center of the gear 2| and the gear I6 remains constant. However, it will be understood that when the platen roll is oscillated forwardly to the position shown in Figure 3, the distance between the center of the gear 2| and the center of the gear l2 will be lengthened slightly, and while the gears will not come completely out of mesh, the teeth will not t together so closely. This slight lost motion is sufficient to prevent the oscillating movement from causing any rotation of the shaft Il and thereby cause an undesired amount of feeding of the paper l0 during the printing operation. When the platen roll is oscillated back to the position shown in Figure 2, the teeth of the gears are again in their normal meshing relation and the usual driving is accomplished.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a tabulating machine provided with a driving gear on a bodily translatable platen roll shaft and a paper feeding device with a driven gear mounted on the fixed center, transmission for said gears, comprising: a -link journalled on the platen roll shaft and having a fixed supporting pivot eccentric of fixed center of the driven gear; and a single idler gear jeurnalled on said link and meshing with said drive gear and said driven gear, said link permitting bodily movement of the idler gear with respect to the driven gear without unmeshng said gears.

2. In a tabulating machine having a paper feeding `device and a bodily translatable platen roll in driving relation to the feeding device, means for permitting translation of the platen roll, Withoutdriving the feeding device as a result of said translation, including a link carrying a single idler gear in mesh with a gear on said platen roll, said link being journalled on the center of the platen roll and pvoted eccentrically with respect to an interrneshing driven gear on the feeding device.

3. A device as specied in claim 2, in which the link is in the form of a plate, which extends beyond the idler gear, and has an additional connection with the feeding device of the pin-andslot type to permit lost motion between the idler gear and the intermeshing driven gear of the feeding device without disengaging any of said gears.

4. A transmission in a tabulating machine having a bodily translatable rotatable platen roll shaft provided with a driving gear, for a relatively fixed frame having a feeding device provided with a driven gear, comprising: a link-plate pivotally mounted on the frame of the feeding device eccentrically of the driving gear, and in which the shaft of the platen roll is journalled; an idler gear journalled on said link-plate in mesh with the driving gear on the platen roll shaft and loosely in mesh with and movable bodily with 

